Interfaith Dialogue

Jason Horwitz

Francis is expected to highlight the plight of Christians amid recent
violence in Egypt, while continuing his mission to reach out to Muslims. Even
for a politically savvy pope, that is a delicate balancing act, on top of
obvious security concerns in a country recently attacked by the Islamic
State....

Harrison Akins

Harrison Akins

Islam is part of the same Abrahamic tradition as Christianity. Key figures within the Bible — Abraham (Ibrahim), Moses (Musa), Mary (Maryam), and Jesus (Isa) among others — are all respected prophets and figures within Islam. There is a chapter in the Quran about Mary and, within the Quran; Jesus is the only person who can perform miracles. Within Islam, Christians and Jewish people are therefore treated as “People of the Book” ....

Mansoor Ladha

Mansoor Ladha

Quebec has been a province where Muslims have always been targeted by online intimidation and Islamophobic vandalism. The former PQ government is guilty of spreading anti-Muslim feelings by proposing that public-sector workers should be prohibited from wearing “conspicuous” religious symbols such as turbans, Kippah, Hijabs and clamping down on Burqas and Niqabs....

Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Rabbi Allen S. Maller

Because the Qur’an is filled with beautiful Arabic poetry; it is not surprising that the the Qur’an is also filled so many beautiful names of God. Because the Jewish tradition reaches back more than thirty five centuries; it is not surprising that Jews have focused on many additional names for God over those many centuries. Yet, because all the many names of God, call upon the same One God, it is also not surprising that many of the 99 beautiful names of God in Muslim tradition also appear in Jewish tradition....

Haroon Khalid

Haroon Khalid

The character of Ranjha in the legendary story has uncanny similarities with Krishna. To woo his love, Ranjha becomes a cowherd – in his childhood, Krishna is depicted as a cowherd, Gopala. And just as Krishna’s flute has an irresistible impact upon maidens, Ranjha too is adept at playing the flute and this is what draws Heer to him....

Mustafa Akyol

Mustafa Akyol

The Qur'an is not a work of literary narrative, as is the Bible. As a scripture that provides guidance (Huda) and a reminder (Tadhkira) to humankind, it gives more emphasis to spiritual edifications than to providing a full account of facts. So, the Quran's main concern with the Jesus story, too, is not to give a full account of the Jesus story, but rather to put it in the right theological perspective......

Tharik Hussain

The Christian boy from Bosnia had grown up to rule the Muslim world. Not everyone liked this arrangement, least of all the Ottoman Sultanas, whose power was on the rise towards the end of this period, especially after Selim II was succeeded by his son Murad III, a handover again overseen by Sokollu, who remained Grand Vizier....

Micah Halpern

The fact that
Egypt has begun to defend its Christians is a positive move for the entire
region; Egypt’s defence of Christians is a major blow to ISIS and its
supporters. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al Sisi understands the importance
of these recent actions and knows that he must stem the tide of ISIS before it
takes a hold of Egypt....

Rabbi Allen Maller

In no way is
the Qur’an anti-Judaism or anti-Jewish. However, there are people now, and
there were people in the past; who have misused verses in the Qur’an for the
purpose of vilifying and attacking Jews and other people of the book. Just as
some Muslims have misused verses in the Qur’an to attack and vilify Sunni,
Shi’a or Sufi Muslims; some Muslims, as well as some Christians and some Jews,
have misused some verses from their own Holy Scriptures for unholy purposes of
disrespect, disparagement and even destruction...

Haroon Khalid

Haroon Khalid

Shah Hussain’s
union with his beloved, the young Hindu boy Madho Lal, also exemplifies this
love. Consumed by their passion, their individual identities dissolved and
emerged Madho Lal Hussain. They are now always referred in conjunction. One
cannot exist without the other....

Ted Regencia

There were some
confusion about the rules on female runners, and whether they could run at all.
Organisers told Al Jazeera women are allowed to run as long as they adhere to
Iran's dress code. The marathon website states: "Women are obliged to wear
a headscarf or sports bandana (so that your hair will be covered). A T-shirt
with long sleeves and a running pant can be a good choice. Please keep in mind
that the length of the T-shirt cannot be too short. You may not wear shorts or
skirts showing bare legs.”...

Dr Muhammad Maroof Shah

Have you ever
been wronged by anyone? What then? “Reject your sense of injury and the injury
itself disappears.” Are you conscious of having helped someone or sacrificed
for someone? If yes, then you don’t know that there is no other whom you could
oblige. Humans are only one soul. The universe is part of me or my projection.
This is what Iqbal’s Asrar-i-Khudi begins expounding. It is only a vain
or mean person who brags about his good doings or plays a victim complaining
about everyone else.....

Fatima Abushanab

Fatima Abushanab

Now, the danger
we face from our European friends' attitudes is developing into a great
catastrophe. Therefore, more than ever, we have to be mindful of the need for
positive dialogue to create an environment of coexistence based on respect,
love and understanding. This is exactly what Jesus would expect from Europeans
today....

Patrick Kingsley

Patrick Kingsley

It is a
transition that has surprised everyone, not least of all himself. Four years
ago, Mohammad tells me, "Frankly I would have slaughtered anyone who
suggested it." Not only have his beliefs changed, but his temperament has,
too. Today, his wife, Hevin Rashid, confirms, with a hint of understatement,
that he is "much better to be around."...

Akrita Reyar

Akrita Reyar

For a more
moderate future, investing in traditional Islam and propagation of Sufism will
help the common man remain liberal. Because the moment the man on the street
starts turning radical, Pakistan will be caught in a vortex of violence that is
already pulling it towards its centre. Pakistan needs more Sehwans, where men
and women can dance together. Where Muslims, Hindus and Christians practice
spirituality with the same ardour and where the keeper of the shrine is still a
Hindu....

Sumit S Paul

It was a
surprise of surprises to me. Holi in Pakistan! Was I dreaming? I pinched
myself. No, I wasn't dreaming. Nonetheless, I went to the department on the day
of Holi. It was a colourful spectacle to behold. There were colours everywhere.
Students and professors were playing Holi. The moment I entered the department,
all greeted me with Holi Mubarak ho in chorus. It was really unexpected. Dr
Abbas told me that Punjab University had been celebrating Holi right from its
inception in 1882 and the tradition was never broken even during and after
partition....

Rana Safvi

Rana Safvi

This
fundamentalism is a recent phenomenon. In the past, the influence of the Sufi
and Bhakti movements encouraged harmony between the communities. In Alam Mein
Intikhaab Dilli, Maheshwar Dyal writes, “Holi is an ancient Hindustani festival
which is played by every man and woman irrespective of religion and caste.
After coming to India, the Muslims also played Holi with gusto, be it the
Badshah or the Faqeer."....

The Economist

More
contentiously, both luminaries confessed to being exasperated at times by the
general view that religion was a separate, optional and fenced-off part of
human life. For many people, noted Ms Siddiqui, “belief in God is part of their
culture, so they cannot think of their culture without belief in God.” Lord
Williams likewise observed that for much of human history, religion had been as
integral to society as cooking or making music. People living with that mindset
simply could not imagine a community without a sense of the sacred....

Zahida Rehman Jatt

Zahida Rehman Jatt

Gradually, a
cult of river worship developed in some of the areas where the Indus flows. The
devotees personified their beliefs: Muslims would call him Khawaja Khizar,
Zinda Pir, and Sheikh Tahir, while Hindus would evoke him by the names like
Uderolal, Amar Lal, Uday Chand, and Jhulay Lal...

The Hindu Daily

Semi-divine
females or Yoginis have been an integral part of the Indian folklore. These
women were naturally beautiful and had voices which could charm the listener by
the emotional intensity of their songs, a sort of heavenly chant which was not
of this world. Many a king and commoner was enchanted by Yoginis who appeared
suddenly in wood, glen and dale or standing under a gnarled tree or beside a
stream where the angler was taken by surprise….

Veengas

Veengas

Nowadays, the
storm of intolerance has been spreading like wildfire across the Asian region,
and in Pakistan, you can read chapters of intolerance in many headlines -
Ahmedis are targeted, Christians' villages are being set on fire, Shia, Hazara
community have it equally difficult et al. Hindus face the same problems as
other non-Muslim communities.....

Kristina Keneally

I also know
that our fellow Islamic citizens in Australia overwhelmingly join me and the
rest of us in condemning Sharia as an oppressive, archaic, harsh and undemocratic
code of law when it is used by extremist groups and governments to terrorise
and control Muslim people – especially Muslim women – in some Muslim majority
nations....

Daniel Victor

Daniel Victor

“To come to the
U.S. and create this amazing life where everyone felt safe and secure and able
to be who they were, that was an incredible thing coming from Eastern Europe,”
Ms. Perle, a hospice medical social worker, said. “For this to have happened
where my family has been laid to rest was just heartbreaking. These are
unconscionable acts.”...

Shahid M Amin

A notable
example is Jerusalem, which was twice in history conquered by Muslims. The
first Muslim conquest was in 637 under Caliph Hazrat Umar (RA), and the second
occasion was in 1187 when Salahuddin Ayyubi (known in the West as Saladin)
conquered Jerusalem from the Christian Crusaders. After each conquest, Muslims
treated the people of Jerusalem, comprising mostly of Christians, with great
humanity and tolerance...

Swami Nityaswarupananda

Religion is
concerned with the science of the knowledge of man’s real nature and with the
development of the consciousness of the eternal truth of the spiritual unity
and solidarity of humankind and of civilization. Religion has no social or
political status, and there cannot be any such thing as a ‘minority religion’
or a ‘majority religion’, and, ipso facto, there can be no ‘religious minority’
or ‘religious majority’....